Trim element for closure frames



uk 5, w49. o. B. MERRILL TRIM ELEMENT FOR CLOSURE FRAMES Filed NOV. 6, 1946 Patented July 5, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRIM ELEMENT FOR CLOSURE FRAMES Oliver B. Merrill, Amesbury, Mass.

Application November 6, 1946, Serial No. 708,139

4 Claims.

This invention relates to trim elements for closure frames, such as those of automobile doors, windows and the like, which elements cooperate with the closures for the frames, and more particularly it relates to the core of such an element which carries or is covered by suitable soft material which makes direct contact with the closure and which also may support ornamental finish elements.

Such a core may be made of exible but not limp sheet material, such as thin soft metal, and it should be possible to bend it to suit curved portions of the openings to which it is applied without distortion of its general shape although a considerable area may be disposed in the plane of the bend. An exam-ple is a weather strip for application to a portion of the door frame which faces the window glass and closes the joint between the two, such as herein illustrated, and which, if applied to a window opening having a partially curved boundary, must be curved to that boundary in the plane of its width. Various constructions have been used more or less satisfactorily for meeting this requirement, a

trim element which may be bent as described not being broadly new. The purpose of my invention is to provide a construction not only highly efficient on this point, but also rugged and durable and cheaply and easily manufactured.

As I anticipate a major eld for the application of the invention to be in the production of weather strip, such as is applied to the face of a reveal, I have illustrated constructions of such weather strips in the accompanying drawing by way of example and will describe them in detail in the following specification. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a blank from which the core is formed;

Fig. 2 is a fragment of a weather strip formed from the blank shown in Fig. 1 with portions successively broken away and certain portions at the bottom bent back;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing a modification; and

Fig. 5 is a similar section showing a modified form of weather strip utilizing a core somewhat differently shaped but made from the blank of Fig. 1.

In Fig. l I have illustrated a blank formed from suitable metal and have narrow Slots I0 cut in from opposite sides thereof leaving a continuous or essentially continuous central zone which, for reasons which will appear, may conveniently be considered as comprising two portions I2 and I4 on opposite sides of the longitudinal dot and dash line in Fig. 1 and forming tongues I6 and I8 along opposite edges of that central zone. The slots I0 and the resultant tongues are offset or staggered along the two edges so that the margins of the tongues I6 will lie opposite the central portion of two adjacent tongues I8. The tongues I8 are herein shown slightly longer than the tongues I6. In the case of the forms illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the blank shown in Fig. 1 is folded over along a line longitudinal of the central zone to provide a core of two superposed thicknesses, each of which is in the form of an elongated strip which comprises a continuous portion along one margin of the core. In the construction illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the doubled edge comprising the superposed and connected portions I2 and I4 is rolled to form an open or hook-like bead clearly seen in Fig. 3 but to which to avoid confusion no separate reference numeral is applied. The tongues I6 and I8 then overlie one another in staggered relation, and because of the difference in their length or because of the location of the central fold, or for both reasons, the ends of the tongues I8 project substantially beyond the ends of the tongues I6 and are turned loosely over the faces of the latter. As seen in Fig. 3, the ends 28 of the longer tongues I8 are curled over in the manner of rounded hooks and conveniently the ends 22 of the other tongues I4 may be slightly deected as shown to avoid the presentation of a sharp edge to the inner surfaces of the hooks 20 which enclose them. The bent back ends of tongues I8 are not tightly pressed against the faces of the tongues I6 which they overlie and the portions of the tongues at the left-hand and upper edge of the structure, viewing Fig. 2, are free to slide one upon the other. Thus, if the core is bent to a curve, the edge at the right may assume the form of that curve without distortion, the beaded edge which is rolled up from the superposed portions I2 and I4 bending much as a round wire bends. The flat body which extends in the plane of the curve can follow the curve because of the sliding of the tongues over one another, the center lines of the various tongues assuming approximately radial positions.

In the complete weather strip shown in Figs. 2 and 3 a cushion or stuiiing 24 rests on the body of the core and is covered by a strip of pile fabric 26, the margins of which respectively are received by the curled over bead formed from portions I2 and I4 by the curled over ends 20 of tongues I8. In the example of the invention shown I have illustrated an ornamental bead 28 of sainless steel clinched tightly over the bead I8 which forms a suitable base for the attachment of the former.

In Fig. 3 the two marginal portions I2 and I4 which are formed from the central zone of the blank are united at the point of the hook formed by the bead into which they are bent, the outer enclosing the inner one. In some instances the formation of such a bead may be facilitated by severing the two parts at this point, an operation which may be eiected in a blank as shown in Fig. 1 as a step in the operations by which the core is shaped from the blank. In Fig. 4 I have shown such a structure and identified parts identical with or closely similar to those in Fig. 3 by the same numeral increased by one hundred. Thus in Fig. 4 the beaded margin of the core is formed from the continuous marginal portion I I 4 of one strip from which project the longer tongues H8 and it encloses the corresponding marginal portion I I2 of the other from which project the shorter tongues H5, the ends |20 of the longer tongues being rolled around the ends |22 of tongues IIS in the same manner as the corresponding parts 20 and 22 in Fig. 3. The cushion 214 and pile fabric 26 are the same as in Fig. 3 and held in the same manner. When a construction as shown in Fig. 4 is formed from such a blank as illustrated in Fig. 1, the line of severance may desirably be at one sid'e of the center line of the central zone between the tongues so that the marginal portion I I2 carrying the shorter tongues I I6 is of much less width than the marginal portion I I4 which carries the tongues H8, the portion of the former which is enclosed by the latter when it is rolled over to form the bead requiring little or no bending.

In Fig. the core is somewhat differently shaped and is completely enclosed. I-Iere parts closely similar to parts in Fig. 3 have applied to them the same numeral increased by two hundred. The blank is doubled along a continuous Zone as before to provide the marginally disposed portions 2I2 and 2id and this doubled edge is formed into a bead substantially centered on the flat body of the core, while the ends 220 and 222 of the tongues 2I8 and 2l@ respectively are rolled over to form in effect a sectional telescoping bead. A textile covering 3B of known form with a contacting surface of pile weave is folded in enclosing relation about the core and secured thereto.

In Fig. 5 I have shown the rolled-over portions 22%) and 222 as enclosing a round wire 32 which reinforces this edge of the core and guides the parts in their relative sliding motion. I have not considered it necessary specically to illustrate the use of a similar wire in constructions like that shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

It will be understood that in manufacture a strip of metal may be advanced longitudinally past several operating stations at which various bending operations and the application of coverings to the core are effected in suitable order so that at the end of the advance the trim element is complete as illustratedin Figs. 3, 4 or 5.

I am aware that the invention may be embodied in other specic forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiments to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, as is in fact clear in several matters from the description itself. Reference is to be had to the appended claims to indicate those principles of the invention exemplified by the particular embodiment described and which I desire to secure by Letters Patent.

I claim:

1. An elongate core for a trim element which is mounted on a closure frame and adapted to cooperate with a portion of the closure for the frame, which core is formed from two superposed .thicknesses of sheet material, each of which comprises a portion extending substantially continuously and unbroken along one margin of the core and a set of tongues arising from said portion and lextending transversely toward the other margin,

the tongues of the two sets respectively being staggered and overlapping and the ends of the tongues of one set being turned back over end portions of the tongues of the other set, the ends of the latter tongues being free to move in their plane within the fold of the former.

2. An elongate core for a trim element which is mounted on a closure frame and adapted to cooperate with a portion of the closure for the frame, which core is formed from two superposed thicknesses of sheet material, each of which com prises a portion extending substantially continuously and unbroken along one margin of the core and a set of tongues arising from said portion and extending transversely toward the other margin, the tongues of the two sets respectively being staggered and overlapping and the ends of the tongues of one set being turned back and receiving a flexible wire in their bights and extending past the Wire to overlie end portions of the tongues of the other set, the ends of the latter tongues being free to move in their plane within the fold of the former.

3. An elongate core for a trim element which is mounted on a closure frame and adapted to cooperate with a portion of the closure for the frame, which core is formed from two superposed thicknesses of sheet material, each of which comprises a portion extending substantially continuously and unbroken along one margin of the core and a set of tongues arising from said portion and extending transversely toward the other margin. at least one of said portions being rolled to provide a rounded bead at said margin enclosing the corresponding portion of the other strip, the tongues of the two strips respectively beine Staegered and overlapping and the ends of the tongues of one set being turned back over end portions of the tongues of the other set, the ends of the latter tongues being free to move in their plane within the fold of the former.

4. A trim element for mounting on a closure frame to Cooperate with a portion of the closure comprising a core formed from two superposed thicknesses of sheet material, each of which comprises a portion extending substantially continuously and unbrokenalong one margin of the core and a set of tongues arising from said portion and extending transversely toward the other margin, at least one of said portions being doubled over to provide an overhangng edge, the tongues of the two strips respectively being staggered and overlapping and the ends of the tongues of one set being turned back over end portions of the REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Bailey Dec. 5, 1939 Number 

